Nobuo Uematsu(植松 伸夫,Uematsu Nobuo?) (born March 21, 1959) is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series.[1] He is considered one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community.[2][3] Uematsu, a self-taught musician, began playing the piano at the age of eleven or twelve, with Elton John as his biggest influence.

Uematsu joined Square in 1986, where he met Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. They have worked together on many video game titles, most notably the games in the Final Fantasy series. After 18 years with Square, he left in 2004 to found his own company called Smile Please, and the music label Dog Ear Records. He has since composed music as a freelancer for many other video games, including ones developed by Square Enix and Sakaguchi's development studio Mistwalker.

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Uematsu was born in Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan.[4] A self-taught musician, he began to play the piano when he was between the ages of eleven and twelve years old,[1] and he did not take any formal piano lessons.[5] He has an older sister who also played the piano.[2] After graduating from Kanagawa University with a degree in English, Uematsu played the keyboard in several amateur bands and composed music for television commercials.[1] When Uematsu was working at a music rental shop in Tokyo, a Square employee asked if he would be interested in creating music for some of the titles they were working on. Although he agreed, Uematsu at the time considered it a side job, and he did not think it would become a full-time career. He said it was a way to make some money on the side, while also keeping his part-time job at the music rental shop.[2]

Uematsu joined Square in 1985, and composed the soundtrack to Cruise Chaser Blassty in 1986, his first. While working at Square, he met Hironobu Sakaguchi, who asked him if he wanted to create music for some of his games, which Uematsu agreed to.[2] For the next year, he created music for a number of games which did not achieve any success, including eroge titles like Alpha.[1] In 1987, Uematsu and Sakaguchi collaborated on what was originally to be Sakaguchi's last contribution for Square, Final Fantasy, a game that turned out to be a huge success.[6]

In 2002, fellow Square colleagues Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito asked Uematsu to join them in forming a rock band that focused on reinterpreting and expanding on Uematsu's compositions. He declined their offer at first because he was too busy with work; however, after agreeing to perform with Fukui and Sekito in a live performance as a keyboardist, he decided to join them in making a band.[2][9] Another employee at Square, Mr. Matsushita, chose the name The Black Mages for their band.[2] In 2003, Keiji Kawamori, Arata Hanyuda, and Michio Okamiya also joined the band.[1] The Black Mages have released three studio albums, and have appeared at several concerts to promote their albums.

Uematsu left Square Enix in 2004 and formed his own company called Smile Please;[10] he also created the music production company Dog Ear Records in 2006.[11] The reason for Uematsu's departure was that the company moved their office from Meguro to Shinjuku, Tokyo, and he was not comfortable with the new location.[2] Also, he cites the fact that he had reached an age where he should gradually take his life into his own hands.[12] He does, however, continue to compose music as a freelancer for Square Enix. In 2005, Uematsu and several members of The Black Mages created the score for the CGI film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Uematsu composed only the main theme for Final Fantasy XII (2006);[13] he was originally offered the job of creating the full score, but Sakimoto was eventually assigned as the main composer instead.[1] Uematsu was also initially going to create the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII (2010). However, after being assigned the task of creating the entire score of Final Fantasy XIV, Uematsu decided to hand the job over to the main Final Fantasy XIII composer, Hamauzu.[1]

Uematsu created the main theme for the multi-composer game Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008.[15] He then composed the music for the 2009 anime Guin Saga; this marked the first time he provided a full score for an animated series.[16] Uematsu recently contributed music and storyline to an e-book titled called "Blik-0 1946".[17] He is currently working on soundtracks for multiple games, including Project Phoenix.

In 2012 "Aerith's Theme", written by Uematsu for Final Fantasy VII, was voted into the number 16 position in the annual Classic FM (UK) "Hall of Fame" top 300 chart.[18] It was the first time that a piece of music written for a video game had appeared in the chart. In 2013, music from the Final Fantasy series received even greater support and was voted into the third position on the Classic FM Hall of Fame.[19] In 2014, Uematsu and his Final Fantasy music had dropped four spots to number seven.[20] In 2015, he dropped to number nine.[21]

Uematsu currently resides in Tokyo, Japan with his wife, Reiko, whom he met during college, and their beagle, Pao. They have a summer cabin in Yamanakako, Yamanashi.[2] In his spare time, he enjoys watching professional wrestling, drinking beer and bicycling.[1] Uematsu has said he originally wanted to become a professional wrestler,[22] mentioning it was a career dream when he was younger.[23]

Uematsu's video game compositions have been performed in numerous concerts, and various Final Fantasy concerts have also been held. Outside Japan, Uematsu's Final Fantasy music was performed live for the first time at the first event of the 2003 Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany.[24] Other events of the Symphonic Game Music Concerts featuring Final Fantasy music were held in 2004, 2006, and 2007.[25] The concert in 2004 featured a world premiere of Those Who Fight from Final Fantasy VII. Japanese pianist Seiji Honda was invited to perform the arrangement together with the orchestra.[26] Another world premiere was "Dancing Mad" from Final Fantasy VI, performed by orchestra, choir, and pipe organ.[27] The event in 2007 included "Distant Worlds" from Final Fantasy XI, performed by Japanese opera soprano Izumi Masuda.[28]

Uematsu also made a guest appearance at A Night in Fantasia 2004 performed by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra's debut concert in October 2004 which coincided with his last day as a staff at Square Enix.[32]

Uematsu's Final Fantasy music was presented in the concert Voices - Music from Final Fantasy, which took place on February 18, 2006 at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center. Star guests included Emiko Shiratori, Rikki, Izumi Masuda, and Angela Aki. The concert focused on the songs from the Final Fantasy series and was conducted by Arnie Roth.[33] Uematsu and several of his fellow composers were in attendance at the world premiere of Play! A Video Game Symphony in Chicago, Illinois on May 27, 2006;[34] he composed the opening fanfare for the concert.[35] He also attended the European debut in Stockholm, Sweden on June 14, 2006,[36] the performance in Toronto, Canada on September 30, 2006,[37] and in Florence, Italy, on October 10, 2007. The world tour Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy was held in Stockholm, and was performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Arnie Roth on December 4, 2007.[38] The second concert of the tour was held at the Rosemont Theatre near Chicago on March 1, 2008.[39] The tour has continued, with a recent concert in Houston, Texas on July 24, 2010. Music from Final Fantasy made up one fourth of the music in the Symphonic Fantasies concerts in Cologne in September 2009 which were produced by the creators of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series and conducted by Arnie Roth.

In February 2010, it was announced that Uematsu would appear at Anime Boston, one of the largest anime conventions on the East Coast. Uematsu did not only show up at Anime Boston, he made a surprise appearance and played with the Video Game Orchestra for the track One Winged Angel. On top of this, he made a short visit to the prestigious Berklee College of Music for a brief Q & A session at the request of VGO founder and Berklee alumni Shota Nakama. In January 2012, Uematsu performed with his band Earthbound Papas at MAGFest X in National Harbor, MD.[40][41] On November 24, 2012, Uematsu performed in a Final Fantasy Distant Worlds concert with Arnie Roth conducting the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus and soloists at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.[42] On June 14 and 15, 2013, Uematsu performed in a Final Fantasy Distant Worlds concert with Arnie Roth conducting the Vienna Volksoper Orchestra and Vienna Chamber Chorus at Konzerthaus, Vienna.

On August 18, 2013, while headlining the Fantasy Rock Festival in Kawasaki, Japan with the Earthbound Papas, he revealed to the audience that he had originally intended to name their second album "Dancing Mad" after the Final Fantasy VI track which also appears on the album. However, referring to Square Enix indirectly, he told the audience that "a certain company 'S'" had phoned and informed him that he "could not use the name". Consequently instead of backing down he decided to name the album "Dancing Dad", as a nod to the band's name. He also told the audience that he wanted to make an album of wholly original songs, but lamented that "it's just that if there are no game songs on it, it probably wouldn't sell!".

The style of Uematsu's compositions is diverse, ranging from stately classical symphonic pieces and heavy metal to new-age and hyper-percussive techno-electronica. For example, in Lost Odyssey, the score ranges from classical orchestral arrangements to contemporary jazz and techno tracks.[43] Uematsu has stated that he is a big fan of Celtic and Irish music, and some of his work contains elements from these musical styles.[44] Uematsu's Final Fantasy scores vary from upbeat, to dark and angry, to melancholic in nature. For instance, the music of Final Fantasy VIII is dark and gloomy, while the soundtrack to Final Fantasy IX is more carefree and upbeat.[45] His Final Fantasy music has been described as being able to convey the true emotion of a scene; an example is "Aerith's Theme" from Final Fantasy VII.[1] In an interview with the Nichi Bei Times, Uematsu said "I don't really self-consciously compose music for Japan or for the world, but I do think there is something in my more melancholy pieces that has a distinctly Japanese quality."[46] He has been named one of the "Innovators" in Time Magazine‍ '​s "Time 100: The Next Wave — Music" feature.[47] He has also been called the "John Williams of the video game world"[48] and been credited for "increasing the appreciation and awareness" of video game music.[49]